Rice, LSU add 2020, 2024 dates to historic football series

Published 6:05 am, Thursday, August 4, 2016

HOUSTON - Rice and LSU have signed contracts to add two additional games to their historic series, including the first game between the two schools in Houston since 1983.

The Owls will host the Tigers in 2020 at NRG Stadium and will make a return trip to Baton Rouge in 2024. The two games are in addition to a meeting in 2018 which was announced in January.

“Our fans were very excited to learn that our series with LSU was resuming in 2018 and we felt it was important to pursue additional games,” Rice Director of Athletics Joe Karlgaard said. “It was important for us to make this a home and home series and I was glad that LSU was equally enthusiastic for a game in Houston.”

Rice and LSU have met a total of 55 times in football, the Owls most extensive series with any team outside of the Southwest Conference. They have met 26 times in Houston including the last 16 at Rice Stadium. The series began in Houston in 1915 when Rice defeated LSU 6-0 at West End Park in Houston. The two schools met again in 1924 & 25 before beginning a continuous series in 1932 that ran until 1952 and then again from 1955-83 with all games in that stretch being played in September.

LSU holds an overall advantage of 36-14-5 in the series, including wins in the last five meetings. The teams are tied 12-12-2 in 26 games in Houston. Rice’s last win in the series was a 17-7 win in at Rice Stadium in 1980.

Since the start of 2016, Rice has added seven future games against schools from P5 conferences, adding three with both LSU and Texas and one at Pittsburgh. Ten of the Owls 18 scheduled nonconference opponents over the next five years are from P5 schools, including home games with Baylor (2016 & 2019), Stanford (2017) Wake Forest (2019) as well as dates with Texas (2019) and LSU (2020) at NRG Stadium.